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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

On August 21, 1998, Fr. Lawrence Murphy died. He had been ordained a priest in 1950, and was assigned to St. John's School for the Deaf in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1950 to 1974. At the time of his death, he had had no pastoral assignment for nearly a quarter of a century, and was living in a family residence in the Diocese of Superior.

He was also the defendant in an ecclesiastical criminal case, in which he was charged with sexually abusing children, and with solicitation within the confessional.

Fr. Murphy's victim's reported his crimes to the police in the mid 1970s. Nothing came of this. In 1974, he was removed from the school for the deaf. Apart from the occasional Mass and retreat for the deaf, Fr. Murphy was effectively retired.

It was not until 1995 that Archbishop Rembert Weakland ordered a preliminary investigation into the allegations of abuse. It was not until 1996 that the Archbishop consulted Rome. Specifically, because there was a statute of limitations issue regarding the outrages in the confessional, the Archbishop consulted the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which had jurisdiction over canonical crimes related to the confessional. (It did not then have jurisdiction over cases of sexual abuse by priests, though it does now.) The CDF ultimately gave the Archbishop the green light to waive the statute of limitations and proceed against Fr. Murphy.

But Fr. Murphy died without being convicted of any crimes, either by Church or by State, and without being dismissed from the clerical state. It is apparently being reported that the trial was kiboshed. And since the man who is now Pope Benedict XVI was Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, his enemies seek to pin the rap on him.

Except for one small problem: there is no rap to pin on the Pope. Just ask Fr. Thomas Brundage, JCL, canon lawyer and ecclesiastical judge. Nobody in the drive-by media has ever thought to ask him anything; yet he was the presiding judge in the case against Fr. Murphy. A couple of samples from Fr. Brundage's article in Catholic Anchor Online responding to the media furor over the case (emphasis added):

...the fact is that on the day that Father Murphy died, he was still the defendant in a church criminal trial. No one seems to be aware of this. Had I been asked to abate this trial, I most certainly would have insisted that an appeal be made to the supreme court of the church, or Pope John Paul II if necessary. That process would have taken months if not longer.

...the competency to hear cases of sexual abuse of minors shifted from the Roman Rota to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith headed by Cardinal Ratzinger in 2001. Until that time, most appeal cases went to the Rota and it was our experience that cases could languish for years in this court. When the competency was changed to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in my observation as well as many of my canonical colleagues, sexual abuse cases were handled expeditiously, fairly, and with due regard to the rights of all the parties involved. I have no doubt that this was the work of then Cardinal Ratzinger.

Fourth, Pope Benedict has repeatedly apologized for the shame of the sexual abuse of children in various venues and to a worldwide audience. This has never happened before. He has met with victims. He has reigned in entire conferences of bishops on this matter, the Catholic Bishops of Ireland being the most recent. He has been most reactive and proactive of any international church official in history with regard to the scourge of clergy sexual abuse of minors. Instead of blaming him for inaction on these matters, he has truly been a strong and effective leader on these issues.

When Pope Benedict was elected, nearly five years ago, I remember thinking that any Pope who gets as many salvos from the sewer as he got in about the first 30 seconds of his pontificate has got to be good. This present furor confirms me in this belief. Such a barrage from the forces of darkness is an extremely serious matter, calling for much prayer and penance. Yet, in a way, it is reassuring. It means the Holy Father must be doing something right.

If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

March 4, 2010, Bay Minette, Alabama: a mistrial is declared in the case of a middle school teacher accused of multiple charges of sexual abuse, attempted sexual abuse, enticement and harassment of four teenage girls. The mistrial followed one girl's sealed testimony that there had been more than one criminal contact with at least one of the girls. The state may file additional charges.

March 5, 2010, Londonderry, New Hampshire:a high school English teacher is arrested on one count of indecent exposure for sending four nude photos of herself to a 15-year-old student.

March 5, 2010, Canandaigua, New York:a high school art teacher is convicted on one count each of forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanors, and acquitted of one count of forcible touching and one count of sexual abuse in the third degree. A female student had accused him of touching her inappropriately; he had admitted to touching her on the thigh, near the knee.

March 5, 2010, Winchester, Indiana:a junior-senior high school basketball coach is charged with two felony counts of child molesting and one felony count of child solicitation, based on allegations that she inappropriately touched and exchanged nude photos with a female student.

March 6, 2010, Oswego, Illinois:a high school English teacher is charged with sexual assault and aggravated sexual abuse. He is accused of committing these acts on a female student at the school, outside of school hours.

March 8, 2010, Alexandria, Virginia:a middle school teacher is convicted of three counts of production of child pornography for having filmed himself having sex with a 15-year-old boy on school grounds.

March 10, 2010, Houston, Texas:a high school speech teacher and coach is arrested on charges out of two counties based on allegations of inappropriate relations with students (sex unspecified).

March 12, 2010, Junction City, Oregon:a former high school wrestling coach is arraigned on six counts of second-degree child abuse and two counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct. The charges are based on allegations of a sexual relationship with a female student starting when she was 15 and lasting several months.

March 17, 2010, Jersey City, New Jersey:a special ed. high school teacher is charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact, child abuse, endangering the welfare of a child and official misconduct for having allegedly masturbated in front of a 15-year-old male student in a school bathroom.

March 18, 2010, Damariscotta, Maine: in a three-page handwritten document, a fourth-grade teacher confesses to touching three of his female students across their breasts and between their legs while they sat working at their desks. He faces charges of unlawful sexual conduct and unlawful sexual touching.

March 18, 2010, Frederick, Maryland:a kindergarten teacher is indicted on charges of sex abuse of a minor and continuing course of conduct involving sex abuse of a minor. He is alleged to have abused a child throughout the 2008-2009 school year.

March 19, 2010, Carlsbad, California:an elementary school teacher takes a plea to two counts of sexual battery and one count of false imprisonment for molesting three of his students.

March 19, 2010, Memphis, Tennessee:a high school teacher and coach makes his initial appearance in federal court on a charge of transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of sexual activity. He is alleged to have engaged the boy in various disgusting activities between 2002 and 2005.

March 22, 2010, Newton, North Carolina:a high school band teacher is indicted on one count of sexual activities with a student and one count of indecent liberties with a student. The charges stem from alleged sexual contact with a 17-year-old student.

March 23, 2010, Colville, Washington:A psychologist for the Colville School District pleads guilty to first-degree child molestation
and possession of child pornography. The charges stem from his molestation of an 11-year-old male student, attempting to molest another, and possessing gay porn depicting young boys on his school computer and his home computer.

March 24, 2010, Belmond, Iowa:A high school teacher and coach turns herself in and is charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee for having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male student. The teacher had won numerous coach-of-the-year awards in Idaho.

March 24, 2010, West Jordan, Utah: after a preliminary hearing, a middle school teacher's aide is bound over on multiple charges of forcible sodomy and forcible sexual abuse stemming from her alleged sexual relationship with two male students.

March 24, 2010, Benson, North Carolina:a former band teacher is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and four counts of sexual offense with a student based on allegations that he had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student, took explicit pictures of the student. Crimes are alleged to have taken place on campus and at the teacher's residence.

March 25, 2010, Burbank, California: after turning herself in to police,a sixth-grade English and social studies teacher pleads no contest to one count of having unlawful sex with a minor and one count of performing lewd acts upon a child. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed three counts of unlawful sex with a person under 16 and one count of oral copulation with a person under 16. These charges arose from the teacher's affair with a male student at her school.

March 25, 2010, Sidney, Ohio:A retired police officer and study hall monitor pleads no contest to three counts of child enticement and one count of obstructing official business. These charges arose from his inappropriate relations with a 13-year-old student.

March 25, 2010, Santa Clara, California:A high school special ed. teacher is sentenced on six felony counts, including oral copulation with a minor, sexual penetration and sodomy on a person younger than 18, arising from his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student.

March 25, 2010, Clarksburg, West Virginia: a high school music teacher pleads guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor. He had originally been indicted on two felony charges of distribution and display to a minor of obscene matter for sending a male student links to porn sites, as well as a text message describing sex acts he would like to perform on the boy.

And this is only a fraction of the news items on teacher sex abuse -- just this month. But since the liberal news media are in bed with the liberal teacher's union, there are no crusades to take down the public school system.

Meanwhile, Msgr. Charles J. Scicluna, Promoter of Justice for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith -- the man charged with prosecuting clergy sex abusers -- has said that over the last nine years, the Congregation has considered accusations "concerning around three thousand cases of diocesan and religious priests, which refer to crimes committed over the last fifty years." Admittedly, this does not include cases that are not timely referred to Rome -- like, say, the debacle in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee that the media are trying to pin on Pope Benedict -- but that statistic averages out to 60 cases per year.

If I had the time and space, I bet I could come up with a lot more than 60 cases of public teacher sex abuse for just the year 2010, which isn't even half over.

I'd say, on average, a kid is a lot safer with a Catholic priest than he is in a public school.

H/T Bad Bad Teacher, which provided many of my leads, but which I will not link to because it unfortunately contains very risque ads.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Via the Idaho Health Freedom Act, signed into law last week, the Idaho legislature directed the attorney general, Lawrence Wasden, to "seek injunctive and any other appropriate relief as expeditiously as possible to preserve the rights and property of the residents of the state of Idaho, and to defend as necessary the state of Idaho, its officials, employees and agents in the event that any law or regulation violating the public policy set forth in the Idaho health freedom act...is enacted by any government, subdivision or agency thereof." Hence, notwithstanding
that the experts think it's pointless, Idaho has joined 12 other states in filing a lawsuit against the federal government to block implementation of Obamacare.

The plaintiff states filed a 23-page complaint today in the federal district court for the Northern District of Florida. They seek declaratory and injunctive relief: a declaration that the 2,409-page law is unconstitutional; and an injunction against its enforcement. Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 sum up the constitutional issues:

2. The Act represents an unprecedented encroachment on the liberty of individuals living in the Plaintiffs’ respective states, by mandating that all citizens and legal residents of the United States have qualifying healthcare coverage or pay a tax penalty. The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying healthcare coverage. By imposing such a mandate, the Act exceeds the powers of the United States under Article I of the Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.

3. In addition, the tax penalty required under the Act, which must be paid by uninsured citizens and residents, constitutes an unlawful capitation or direct tax, in violation of Article I, sections 2 and 9 of the Constitution of the United States.

4. The Act also represents an unprecedented encroachment on the sovereignty of the states....

The two district judges in the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division, were appointed by Reagan and Bush the Elder, respectively, so let's hope the forum was well-chosen and that this action will get a fair hearing. We shall see where this goes.

The 13 plaintiff states are: Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Some of these plaintiffs have left very few fingerprints in the annals of rock-ribbed Republicanism (with a capital "R"): Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Washington are all blue states. This reflects a point Rush Limbaugh made yesterday: the bipartisanship in the debate over Obamacare has been on the side of the opposition.

How pointless would this exercise be, I wonder, if all the states -- or even just a simple majority -- joined the suit.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

We have suffered a total and unmitigated defeat...We are in the presence of a disaster of the first magnitude...we have sustained a defeat without a war, the consequences of which will travel far with us along our road...we have passed an awful milestone in our history, when...the terrible words have for the time being been pronounced...: "Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting." And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigor, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.

Winston Churchill in the House of Commons, denouncing the Munich Agreement, 1938

For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skilful magician and the expert in charms. And I will make boys their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people will oppress one another, every man his fellow and every man his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the base fellow to the honorable.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

This tray of slops is featured on Fed Up with Lunch: The School Lunch Project, a blog with a substantial readership by a teacher, Mrs. Q., who is eating the same school lunches her students are getting every day throughout 2010 and reporting on them, complete with photos. Mrs. Q. says some of the items she is served are not bad-tasting (relatively speaking); but almost all of them look unappetizing. For example:

This is a classic example of what we get when we let the government take over functions that traditionally belonged to mothers and fathers.

One of the hallmarks of real love is doing everything in one's power to give the beloved the best of everything. This...

...ain't it.

Yet for generations, those who have the greatest stake in the well-being of children -- their parents -- have been persuaded to turn their kids over to the gentle ministrations of that which has the least stake: government. Government usurps more and more parental functions, and performs them incompetently, on the grounds that parents allegedly aren't doing them at all. This is government schools' excuse for taking an adversarial stance against parents, which stance is one of the philosophical underpinnings of the university education courses where your kids' teachers are trained. And the reason parents are adversaries is because they are the single biggest obstacle to the government's ability to mold and shape children as it sees fit.

Which brings us to the other rotten things kids are getting, of which school lunches are only the tip of the iceberg. In an age when government schools have brought us sex education at younger and younger ages, political indoctrination, illiteracy, crime on campus, sex abuse perpetrated by teachers, condom distribution, the general breaking down of inhibitions and natural modesty, and a host of other bads, it shouldn't come as a surprise when they can't provide children with meals that at least measure up to the slop standards on your average hog farm.

Yeah, I know: not all public schools are bad; not all public schoolteachers are having sex with their students; my kids go to an excellent school; the school I teach at has high standards; you're being too hard on all the overworked, underpaid faculty and staff trying to eye-drop holy water into hell; etc., etc., etc. But for all that there are individual teachers out there doing their best, there is a sobering reality, of which lousy lunches are only one sign, that parents need to grasp:

The government simply does not love your kids.

Nor will it be around to pick up the pieces when your kid comes home with ptomaine poisoning. So for God's sakes, pack him a lunch every day.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Now I have been to the Extraordinary Rite Mass. Low Mass was offered tonight at 6:00 p.m. at St. Bridget of Kildare in Nyssa, Oregon by Fr. Andrew Szymakowski, FSSP. I am posting a picture of St. Bridget of Kildare because none of the pictures I took of the sanctuary of her pretty little church came out to my satisfaction.

Concerning my first Extraordinary Rite Mass, some observations:

-- Since I read through the Ordinary of the Mass ahead of time, and got my ribbons in place to mark the propers, I was able to follow along relatively well. The only things that threw me were the periods of silence, because, not knowing how long it takes the priest to recite the silent prayers, I ran the risk of missing things through trying to find my place. I will need more Masses to get used to the responses.

-- Fr. Szymakowski keeps veils on the tabernacle in accordance with the liturgical season (tonight they were purple, and he changed them before Mass to rose-colored for Laetare Sunday). These veils are quite lovely and look to be of antique vintage. (I took pictures before Mass, but they didn't come out.) He also uses a chalice veil and a maniple.

-- Tonight we heard Low Mass. There are those who have their complaints about Low Mass, which is somewhat shorter than High Mass and contains no music, because they consider it to be minimalist. But when I compare Low Mass to Sunday Mass in the Ordinary Rite stuffed to the rafters with campfire hits from Oregon Catholic Press, I consider Low Mass to be infinitely preferable. If you have access to the Extraordinary Rite on a daily basis, or at least a frequent basis, even if it's "only" Low Mass, then you need to count your blessings.

-- Now I understand why, for generations, people prayed the Rosary and practiced other private devotions at Mass. It's not because they weren't paying attention, or because they didn't know what's going on. But, in stark contrast to the Ordinary Rite as frequently executed, there are lengthy periods of silence. True, the Second Vatican Council wanted people to focus their attention on the Mass; but it would seem that if the faithful were properly disposed in the days before the Council, then they were offering their prayers with those of the priest who prayed in silence. Besides, what could be more appropriate at the foot of the Cross -- which is exactly where we are at Mass -- than prayer?

-- The priest's role as intercessor for the people stands out far more clearly in the Extraordinary Rite than in the Ordinary Rite. Why? Because he is facing God, and not us; because much of his prayer is silent; because he is clearly doing almost all of the work. There are many, both within and without the Church, who find this objectionable. I find it consoling. Contrary to
what we have tried to make priests in recent decades, and what they
have tried to make themselves, a priest is not Just One of the Guys.
He is chosen to approach the Altar of the Lord, to speak on behalf of
the Church, and he has been consecrated and specially fitted out for
this task. Since, in the Extraordinary Rite, laymen are not prancing
around in the sanctuary, the fact that the priest is specially set
apart is quite clear. I think greater exposure to the Extraordinary Rite would help to put the kibosh on the business of blurring the distinction between laity and clergy.

-- There are, in fact, very few tasks for the laity to perform at Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Even when we receive Holy Communion, we are not required to say anything, only to receive the Eucharist. To me, the lack of visible tasks for the laity to perform during Mass is a reminder that our own efforts, by themselves, count for next to nothing. We need the help of grace, and we are getting this at Mass. We must cooperate with grace, do what lies to hand, and then leave the rest to God, getting out of His way. This requires us to mortify our desire to busy ourselves with many things. By wanting to take on all sorts of jobs at Mass, all we're really doing is making life harder than it needs to be. "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42. "Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10.

-- And, though we have lost this to a great extent since Vatican II, stillness lies at the heart of the Mass. Silence is the language of God. The greatest wonders of all are out of the reach of our senses. In the Extraordinary Rite, this is exemplified by the fact that the Holy Sacrifice itself takes place in silence -- at least, we in the pews cannot hear the words of consecration. The silence of the congregation -- even a very small one, like we had tonight -- is a sure sign of active participation. I was reminded of the hush that must have fallen on Calvary (which is where we in fact were), in those last moments before the great work of Redemption was accomplished.

So those are my preliminary thoughts on the Extraordinary Rite. If you live in Boise, and you want the Extraordinary Rite, it is now within reach (only an hour's drive).

Dear God: please bless Fr. Szymakowski. Please inspire more people to attend the Extraordinary Rite Mass in Nyssa, so that Father will be able to offer it more than once a month. And please drive down the price of gas so we can all afford to keep going out there.

Monday, March 08, 2010

This Saturday evening, I plan to attend my first live Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Since this is my first one, and I want to know what to do and get out of it as much as I possibly can, I have begun my preparation. Today, I went out and picked up Baronius Press' Summorum Pontificum edition of the 1962 Missal -- the last one in the shop, as it so happened, sitting apart from all the other prayer books, as if it had been set out just for me.

As I looked through this classy volume, I couldn't help contrasting it with The Redoubtable One's one-volume English-language breviary, circa 1962. The language in it is far superior to the ICEL translation of the Divine Office currently in use; on the other hand, the volume is full of the sort of weird, cubist/LSD-type drawings that still infest the covers of missalettes -- a symptom, even at that early date, of coming dislocations. However, there is no place for that kind of nonsense in this missal. Here is a typical illustration:

(For those of you who have clamored to see a picture of me, there's my thumb.)

Since beginning this Mass preparation, I have been reflecting on the fact that, in the wake of Vatican II, the liberals have succeeded not only in having Gregorian chant, the Latin language, and the Tridentine Mass shelved; they have also managed to instill in many Catholics a visceral hatred of these things. The standard objections to these "relics of the past" -- nobody understands Latin, chant is "too hard" or "too depressing," etc., etc., etc. -- are so irrational and without foundation that hatred and prejudice, coupled with an utter lack of understanding of true Catholic worship, are the only explanations for them that makes sense.

There is nothing "hard" about the Mass in Latin. Generations upon generations of people far less educated than you understood the Mass. And understanding the Mass is what the Missal is for. I will grant that the Missal is a little on the complicated side, but the difficulties are not insurmountable. Certainly, if you know your way around a breviary -- and not a few laymen do these days -- then the 1962 Missal will not be too hard to figure out. Even if you don't recite the Office, the help is out there.

But here is the essential beauty of the Missal:

English on one side; Latin on the other. Simple! Not to mention all the nifty explanations in between -- because it doesn't kill us to learn new things.

And then there is the handy-dandy cheat sheet for when to stand, sit and kneel:

This Missal is also a treasury of devotions and essential Catholic prayers, which make it even more worth possessing.

So I, for one, am not worried about being able to follow what's going on at Mass this Saturday evening, or how I'm going to engage in "active participation." The "active participation" starts now, with this volume.

The only thing that worries me is how, once I have experienced the beauty and the power of the traditional Mass, I'm going to be able to cope with the crappy music, etc. at the regular Masses I'll attend on the days when I can't get the Extraordinary Rite.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; for they will be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6

There are criminal defense attorneys who grow despondent because their clients have not the smallest shred of gratitude for all their efforts. Public defenders are especially prone to this, since they are subjected to daily abuse by both clients and the families of clients. Despite the fact that even young public defenders are already highly experienced litigators and negotiators -- far more so than some lawyers in private practice -- they are viewed as inferior goods by a clientele that does not pay them, and therefore has no yardstick by which to measure the value of the services they are getting. Many public defender clients actually believe that public defenders are not real lawyers, and do not hesitate to apprise their court-appointed counsel of this fact.

So if you are a criminal defense attorney, and you want praise and plaudits from your clients, and you're thinking of throwing in the towel just because you're not getting them, then here is the solution:

CHANGE WHAT YOU WANT.

Seriously. Listen to the voice of experience.

Your problem is not that you aren't getting what you want; your problem is that what you want is wrong.

Until you start wanting what is right, you can never hope to find satisfaction in this or any other line of work.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

147 years ago today, Abraham Lincoln took time out from dealing with the Civil War to sign into law an act of Congress creating the Idaho Territory. The territory contained what are now the states of Idaho, Montana and most of Wyoming. Its first capital was Lewiston, Idaho.

But then, in 1864, the capital moved to Boise -- and has stayed here ever since. To make it up to the bereft citizens of northern Idaho, Idaho's land grant university -- the University of Idaho, my law school alma mater -- was situated in Moscow, the seat of Latah County.

Incidentally, Latah County is the only county in the entire nation that was created by an act of Congress.

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Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

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The destiny of mankind is not decided by material computation. When great causes are on the move in the world...we learn that we are spirits, not animals, and that something is going on in space and time, and beyond space and time, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.

Winston Churchill, radio broadcast to America on receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Rochester, New York, June 16, 1941